Automatic expansion-controlling valve.



PA TENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

v E. r. OSBORNE. AUTOMATIIG EXPANSION CONTROLLING VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED 00126, 1899.

no menu.

UNITED STA-TESS I iatented September 29, 19 03 PATENT V ()FFICE.

EUGENE F. osBonNE, or chrome, ILLINOIS, Assumes, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTSQTO SAID OSBORNE AND J. MOTTE MARTIN, TRUS- TEES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC EXPANSION -00NTR0LL|NG VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming as of Letters was no. 740,170, dated September 29, 1908.

Application tiled October as, 1899.

To all whom it may concern} Be it known that I, EUGENE F. QSBORNE,

of 356 Dearborn avenue; Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Expansion-'(lontrolling Valves; and I do hereby declare that the following is 'a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to.the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic expansion -controlling valves for refrigerating apparatus of that class wherein a liquefiable gas is employed as a refrigerating agent. Said valve is located at the point of gasiiication of the liquid refrigerating agent, and is designed to control the gasification or expansion of said liquid, and thereby regulating the temperature of the chamber or compartment in which said gaseous refrigerating agent is expanded.

The invention consists of the matters hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of an expansion-controlling valve which is made in accordance with my inven. tion. Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and i are horizontal sec-i tions taken on lines 3 3 and 4 at of Fig. 1.

As shown in said drawings, A: designates the valve-casing, having a valve-chamber A. Said valve-casing is provided with an inletpassage A having a port a disposed at right angles with the inlet-passage and which opens into the valve-chamber A.

A designates an outlet-passage connected with a pipeA, which leads to the place of use of the fluid and the refrigerator-valve.

B designates a conical valve plug which forms the valve-closure of theexpansion-com trolling valve and which in the absence of an opening force is held against its seat in the adjacent end of the port a by means of a spring 0. Said valve-plug is adapted for connection with a movable part of a thermostat or like controlling device which is adapted to be located in the space or compartment Serial No. 734,862. No modelJ to be cooled and which thermostat acts to hold the valve at a distance from its seat depending upon the temperature of such space, thereby permitting a greater or less flow of the fluid through said valve, according to the temperature required. Such plug is connected with or formed on the end of a valvestem B. B design ates a piston on said valvestem, which is herein shown as made separate therefrom and having a screw-threaded engagement with the stem, said piston being made to fit loosely in said chamber, so as to permit the escape of the fluid to. the sprin chamber. The spring 0 is interposed between a shoulder on the valve-stem and a flange d on a spindle D, which is mounted in the valvecasingin axial alinement with the valve-plug B. Said spindle D, as shown, has seren threaded engagement with a detachable head E on' the valve-casing, through which head the spindles may be moved inwardly orfoutwardly to regulate the action of said spring) Said head is shown as having screw-threaded engagement with the casing and as forming a closure for the chamber.

F designates an e'ndwise -movablestem which has screw-threaded engagement with the valve-casing and projects at its inner end into the inlet-passage A between the same and the port a; inner end with a conical or needle point and is designed for the purpose of regulating the amount of fluid which passes from said passage A to the valve-chamber A". without reference to the extent to which the expansion- 85 controlling valve is opened by the thermostat. Said stem projects outside of the valvecasing and is provided at its outer end with a head or thumb piece f, which is adapted for manual engagement and by which the 0 conical end .thereof may be moved with respect to its seat in the inlet-passage to rcgm late the flow of liquid therethrough.

Referring now to the connection between the thermostat and the expansion-controlling 5 valve for automatical] regulating the flow of liquid through said valve to correspond with the temperature of the space to be cooled, the same is made as follows:

G designates adiapliragm which is located 10 Said stem is provided at its in a chamber A formed partly in a recess in the outer wall of the valve-casing and partly in a hollow plate II, secured to the valve-casing over said recess. Said diaphragm is made from any suitable flexible material and is secured in place by having the margins thereof confined betweenthe plate H and the ring h, which is interposed between said plate and the wall of said casing. A packing is also interposed between the periphery of said ring and the plate to providea tight joint between these parts.

I designates a plate attached to the diaphragm. Said plate is provided on opposite sides of its center with lugs or pins 1' 2', Fig. 3, which pass loosely through openings in the wall of the valve-casingv and into the valve-chamber A. Said pins engage at their inner end the piston B which, as before stat-ed, is attached to the stem of the valve 15. The outer part of the chamber A between the diaphragm G and the plate H, is adapted for communication with a fluid-containing thermostat of any approved form, which thermostat is located in the compartment to be cooled. Said chamber is adapted for connection with said thermostat by means of a pipe J, which is in communication with an opening in the plate H.

WVhen the pipes are connected in the manner suggested and the temperature of the compartment to be regulated is increased beyond the temperture of the thermostatic medium, it serves, by the expansion of the fluid within the thermostat or the part of said thermostat which expands under the action of an increase of temperature, to move such diaphragm toward the valve, which latter acts, through the medium of the pins i 11 and the piston B to move the valve away from its seat against the action of the spring 0. Obviously a lowering temperature causes the thermostatic fluid to be condensed and ber A and thereby limit the movement of thediaphragm and the pins 2' when thrown inward by the action of the thermostat.

The gasification or expansion of the liquid refrigerating agent takes place at the opening of the port a of the valve-chamber, and the gaseous refrigerating agent is conducted through the outletA of the valve to the re frigerating-coil or tcQther points of use.

\Vhen the thermostat by which the valve is controlled is a fluid-containing thermostat, it may continuously be filled with the refrigerating agent used in the system. of which the valve herein shown forms a part. Means are therefore provided for charging the thermostat with such refrigerating agent from the same source of supply with which the expansionvalveis connected. As herein shown,the said charging means are made as follows: A designates a valve-casin which,-as herein shown, is integral with the casing A and is provided on the side thereof adjacent to the thermostat with a passage a, which opens into the inletpassage A of the regulating-valve and in communication to a pipe K, which leads to the thermostat. Said inlet passage a passes through the valve-casing A and terminates in a screw threaded nipple A on said lastmentioned casing and is adapted for connection therewith of the pipe K. L designates a valve-plug in a chamber a in said casing A. Said valve-plug is provided with a conical-shaped end which projects through the inletopening A and engages a seat on the inner end of the passage a, which leads tothe thermostat. Said valve-plug L is connected at its end remote from said passage a with a spindle L, which has screw-threaded engage ment with the valve-casing and by means of which the valve may be moved'to control the passage a. The thermostat,which is adapted to be used with the expansion-valve herein shown, may, however, be filled with the liquefied gas at the place where such gas is liquefied and transported to its place of use under such temperature as to maintain such gas in its liquid state until the thermostat is connected to the valve.

I claim as my invention 1. An expansion-controllin g valve comprising a casing provided'with a valve-chamber, with inlet and outlet passages communicating therewith and with a diaphragm-chamber, a spring-pressed valve-closure between the inlet -passage and the valvechamber, a diaphragm in said diaphragm-chamber, connections between said diaphragm and the valveclosure, comprising a flange on the valve-stem and two studs attached to the diaphragm and which extend through openings in said casing and engage the said flange at the sides of the closure, a pipe leading to the outer side of the diaphragm-ch amber and adapted for communication with a thermostat, a passage communicatin g with the inlet-passage of the valve and adapted to be connected withthe thermostat to fill the same with the liquid passing through said valve, and avalve-plug for closin g said filling-passage.

2. An expansion-controlling valve comprising a casing provided with a valve-chamber, with inlet and outlet passages communicating therewith and with a diaphragm-chamber, a spring-pressed valve-closure between the inlet passage and the valve-chamber, a diaphragm in said diaphragm-chamber, connections between said diaphragm and the valveclosure, comprisingaflange on the valve-stem and two studs attached to the diaphragm and which extend through openings in said cas- IIO ing and engage the said flange at the sides of the closure, a pipe leading to the outer side of the diaphragm-chamber and adapted for communication with a thermostat, a passage communicating with the inlet-passage of the valve and adapted to be connected with the thermostat to fill the same with the liquid passing through said valve, a Valve-plug for closing said filling-passage, and a Valve in'said casing for determining the maximum amount of fluid which may pass through the inlet-passage to the Valve-chamber.

3. An expansion-controlling valve comprising a-casing provided with avalve-cha'mber, with inlet and outlet passages communicating therewith and with'a diaphragm-chamber, a spring-pressed valve-closure between the in- EUGENE F. OSBORNE. lVitnesses WILLIAM L. HALL, GERTRUDE Enron. 

